With the advent of the software application componentization and integration initiatives, progressively more software applications are componentized. Such a paradigm has several advantages in terms of software code reuse, reduction of implementation effort, integration opportunities, etc. However, componentization can create new issues to manage in relation to central configuration of a componentized software application.
A componentized software application includes several software components (modules or pieces), each of which has its own configuration as a stand-alone application. Configuring a componentized application involves configuring all the software components used by the application in such a way that they are able to work together and be exploited successfully by an aggregating application. This is an involved task since each component is typically developed by an independent team and has its own mechanisms and repositories to manage its configuration (e.g., text files, binary files, database, registry keys, etc.). Moreover, when dealing with componentized applications, two aspects need to be considered. The first aspect involves constraints for the component configuration, wherein the same parameter can be used by different components and, in this case, it is mandatory for the parameter to assume the same value for each component (e.g., a communication port used to exchange data between two components). The second aspect involves shared components, wherein the same component can be shared among several applications and, in this case, its configuration has to be managed in a consistent manner. Each application/component tends to provide its own way of managing the configuration and the available configuration management solutions are only focused in handling configuration settings in terms of desired state at application level, without addressing a componentized infrastructure.